The official naming of the Hope (Al Amal) Mars probe underscores the fact that the sky is no longer the limit for the UAE. The announcement is a further vote of confidence in the ability of an all-Emirati team to develop, build and launch a vehicle to fly to the red planet and conduct valuable experiments. It is also a statement about this country and the way it sees its role on the world stage. The probe is called Hope because, in the words of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, "the UAE is the hope of the region". The mission, he said, "represents hope for millions of young Arabs looking for a better future".
In taking this step, the UAE will become the ninth country in the world, and the only Arab country, to have a space programme aimed at exploring our planetary neighbour. The work it does will complement that of the other projects, and it will help boost the overall bank of knowledge about Mars in particular and the solar system in general.
The team has been set an ambitious target, with a goal of having a launch-ready probe within six years. The challenge of building a spacecraft that can travel 60 million kilometres – and then collect data for at least four years while orbiting the planet – is formidable. But the mission will have many rewards for the 150 Emirati scientists and engineers it is expected to employ between now and 2020, in terms of their professional development and career prospects.
The project will also have long-term benefits for the country and region as a whole. The US-Soviet space race of the 1950s and 1960s led to a surge in science and engineering education, and to the development of technologies that are widely in use today. New projects such as the Hope probe will, hopefully, fuel further discoveries, create jobs and establish the UAE as a global leader in research and development.
It should also help fire imaginations and encourage young people to be excited about careers in science and technology. Otherwise dry school subjects such as physics and mathematics will come alive for school pupils who can follow the probe’s progress, and may have the opportunity to visit the mission control facilities and launch site. The future will become tangible for a whole generation of Emiratis and other Arabs who dare to hope.
